Time and Distraction

Making the most of our time

Brittany Polat
January 02, 2026

Welcome to 2026! With the passage into a new year, what better time to pause and think about time? As we turn the page on our calendar—and reflect on how to make this our best year yet—let’s see what Seneca says about using our time wisely.

Seneca was a busy man: not only was he tutor to the future emperor Nero, but for a few years during Nero’s minority he was actively running the Roman empire. Perhaps because of all these official duties, Seneca was keenly aware of the value of time. He was one of the first to write about time as a valuable commodity, worth even more than money. If you lose your money, you can always earn it back later, but squandered time can never be regained.

And yet many of us are careless with our time. We often give it up for frivolous reasons, Seneca noted, including to acquire things we don’t really need:

Those things we compete for—the things to which we devote so much effort—offer us either no advantage, or greater disadvantage. Some are superfluities; others are not worth the trouble, but we don't realize it. We think things come for free, when in fact their price is very steep.

Here is what makes our idiocy quite plain: we think the only things we pay for are those we spend our money on. The things we call free are those on which we spend our very selves. Things we wouldn't be willing to pay for it if meant giving up our house for them, or some pleasant or productive estate, we are quite ready to obtain at the cost of anxiety, of danger, of losing our freedom, our decency, our time. You see, we treat ourselves as if we were more worthless than anything else.

Seneca, Letters on Ethics, 42.6-7

For most of us, Seneca’s point really hits home. And this problem is compounded today when we have so many options for wasting our time, like endlessly scrolling through news or social media. So how do we make sure to spend our time on meaningful, life-affirming activities rather than mindless, soul-sapping consumption?

Seneca’s advice: remember how precious your time is.

So let's act in all situations and all our decisions as we do in the marketplace when a vendor has something we eagerly desire—let's ask how much it's going for. Often the price is very high even if you get it for nothing. I can show you many possessions that have cost us our liberty in the moment we acquired them. If those things did not belong to us, we would belong to ourselves.

Seneca, Letters on Ethics, 42.8

Think about how much your time, attention, and mental energy is worth. Who are you giving it away to? When you spend time online, remember that if you’re not purchasing a product, then you are the product. People are paying for your attention. When you give it to them, make sure it’s a fair exchange. Make sure you are getting something truly valuable in return. As Epictetus reminds us,

To capsize his ship, the helmsman doesn't need to make as much preparation as to keep it safe; he has only to steer it a little too much into the wind and all is lost; and even if he has done so inadvertently, because his attention has wandered, he is undone. Such is the case here too: if you nod off just for a moment, all that you've amassed up until then is lost and gone. Pay careful attention, then, to your impressions; watch over them unceasingly. For it is not something of little importance that you're trying to preserve, but self-respect, fidelity, impassability, freedom from distress, fear, and anxiety, and, in a word, freedom. At what price will you sell that? Consider how much it is worth.

Discourses, 4.3, 5-8

Only you can decide how much your self is worth. Will you give it away to any online commentator who posts provocative opinions or funny memes? Or will you set a higher bar for yourself? Seneca and Epictetus remind us that this is “not something of little importance that you’re trying to preserve.” It’s everything. Without your self-respect and inner freedom, all the other things don’t matter very much.

The beginning of the year is a perfect time to reassess your relationship with time. How are you spending it and what are you spending it on? Consider tracking your daily activities, either by keeping a hand-written time inventory or using a time management app. If you find you’re devoting too much time to mindless entertainment, try an app to reduce screen time. Think about more fulfilling alternatives that will bring satisfaction in the moment but also in the long term, even if it’s just listening to beautiful music or having a conversation with a friend.

We can’t control everything we spend our time on—work and family obligations will always be there—but we do have a say in much of it. Make 2026 when we truly belong to ourselves.

Wishing you a peaceful and happy new year!

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